Orlando must do preparations and planning !

I am off to Orlando ,Florida soon  well August in fact though I have been there three times before  * seem a bit of a show off don't ! Anyway even though I have been there three times before and done the parks and several times and other attractions these were done at various parts of our family life. I do believe that each time you go it is magical.

 It been five years since we were last there so this has allowed Orlando, Florida to get bigger and better as that what Orlando,Florida does.

Florida theme parks get bigger and better.

One of the first things is finding my American Currency as we find it fun is tracking good old George Washington , I suspect you are a little puzzled at this stage in proceedings.Where's George? is a website that tracks the natural geographic circulation of American paper money. I know there will be though who scream you don't deface money but quite frankly the American Secret Service have better things to do .

I shall always be brushing up on the visa regulations which again have changed since I have gone when I last went you filled out the visa waver form on the plane



Looking around for the best travel policy


Checking out the prices on light weight suitcase I don't want to get stung like I did last times when we seemed to bring back the entire contents of the Disney toy shop.


I will also make sure that my big big handbag is clear and this doesn't count with the hand luggage allowance and you'll be amazed what you can shove fit in there untidily neatly.  I will be packing a set of clothes in every ones hand luggage as havens forbid the plane is delayed and I'll have nothing to wear excepting a grinning Mickey Mouse T-shirt circa 2008.

Start buying clothes and packing them I am a stickler for getting my case organised.


Order the photo service from Disney I picked this tip up from as most of my previous Disney pictures went  up in a puff of smoke and this made me very sad as they won't backed up in any way and least this time I will have our memories backed up on a CD and on my separate storage device.

Having fun in Orlando Florida

I also must start my Theme park planning  as so much as changed such I was there 5 years ago .. We really want to go to Universal Studies and see the New Harry Potter World.

I have friends who are going with young children this year as my child is not so little now you can pick up some great tips on how to cope with Disney with little kids here 



It's always best to plan what you'd like to do in Orlando, so I find its so helpful to look at these tips for help it makes my time in Orlando so much more time worthy.

Middle Eastern Lamb & Quinoa Patties

"Most of us know it's important to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg every day, but what many of us don't know is that we should be eating more wholegrain to keep us healthy too. Nutritionists around the world encourage eating at least three servings of wholegrain a day. But despite the nutritional benefits, national surveys show that 95% of UK adults fail to reach three servings a day. In fact, on average, most of us don't even eat that in a week, and almost a third of us don't eat any at all. To help us inspire mums to get more nutritious wholegrain into their family's diet, take part in our wholegrain challenge & tell us what you think."

I am part of the Mumsnet challenge to introduce more wholegrain in my families diet, at first I thought this was only really possible by eating a shed load of cereal and wholemeal bread sandwiches. But I was quickly proved wrong when I glanced at their recipes booklet and look at their website.

I decided to try this recipe on my family , I though there's no way a fussy teen is going to eat that.. again I was proved wrong.

Middle Eastern Lamb & Quinoa Patties

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients:

100g Quinoa

400g Lean minced Lamb
1 tbsp tomato paste
2tsp Harissa paste
25g toasted pine nuts
1tbsp rapeseed oil

To serve;

4 wholemeal pitta, toasted
salad

Method:

1. Place the quinoa and 300ml cold water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the water has been adsorbed. Allow to cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the lamb, Harissa , tomato paste and pine nuts.

3. Stir in the quinoa and divide into 8,
mould into round pat tie shapes.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the patties for 8-1- minutes until cook throughout, turning occasionally.

5. Serve in toasties pitta with a little salad.

Disclosure I was provided with a £10 shopping gift card for the purposes of this challenge. All thoughts words and opinions are my own.

The recipe has been copied here with kind permission from Wholegrain Goodness.

Squashies take me back to the Eighties ...

You can take the girl out of the Eighties but you can't take the Eighties out of  an Eighties girl. So last Saturday it was a trip for me down memory lane back to the Eighties at the Museum of childhood , Bethnal Green thanks to an retro event organised by Squashies. Squashies are a new range of as the name suggests squashable sweets.

Ideal for parties , occasions , sharing trips to the cinema and even as wedding favours!.

Me on the right an Eighties girl.

I appreciate the picture is grainy but it was the Eighties long before super fast computers, the Internet, and mobile phones were the size of a house. The memories of girls giggling as they shared the love hearts out to the boys, taking forever to eat a drumstick stick lolly. Dumping a shed load of half pennies on the counter as you pointed to the stash of refreshers beside them.

"An Eighties girl is happy to wait,

Love hearts Be mine and Too shy,

Run over with sweets a plenty,

Look with doleful eyes,

Its elementary!"


So with Squashies I can re live the memories with a soft version of the iconic sweets. From Double lollies' to the popular Drumstick gums, there's a Squashie for everyone - sure to tingle the testbeds of all big kids.

Bright and colourful, Squashies are the perfect sweets to enjoy with all the family - curl up on the sofa and enjoy the perfect evening , even perhaps watching an family friendly Eighties time. And if you just want some 'me' time then the 45g bags are perfect for you.

Squashies are ideal if you've got a long car journey ahead or are looking for a pick-me-up during the working week. With no artificial colours, the quirky flavours are bursting with character and are utterly moreish.

For those who have a party planned or a get-together with friends, Squashies are an ideal partner. Soft and light, they will put a smile on everyone's face.

So say hello to Squashies and experience a revolutionary sweet that is guaranteed to impress! And don't forget to download the new free Squashies World App - a cute and challenging game.

To download visit www.squahiesworld.com

That was the week that was snow

I thought if I posisibly  gave you another whole hosts of snow pciture you might just start typing yawn , yawn yawn in the comments . And who quite frankly would blame you,  I am always in search of the unusual, the linguistic fantastic or that picture that makes you go wow.

A Winters day.

And then when I went to London at the weekend and I visited Harrods and the V & A museum the colour came back into my life, no longer was it a monchocrome sadness. First a chink of colour peeped in then the colours just started flooding into my life.

Emperor Caligula V & A museum

And back at home the cat got into the spirit of colour ....

I hope that this week you can colour your world beautiful .....

Silent Sunday 27/01/2013